News Blog

NEWS BLOG: State audit mildly critical of some Rochester practices

The
state Comptroller’s Office has released an audit
report on
the City of Rochester containing mild criticisms over the awarding of
contracts and potential conflicts of interests of City Council
members.

The
report says city officials did not solicit competing offers before
awarding a $600,000 construction contract in the 2010 to 2011 fiscal
year. The contract went to the Clark Patterson Lee engineering firm
for a road project in the area of East Avenue and Broad, Chestnut,
and Court streets.

In
its response, the city says that competitive proposals were solicited
for one phase of the project, but not another. It is common practice
to stay with the same firm, the city’s response says.

“We
believe that this process ensures that the city obtains the best
engineering services throughout the project,” because the firm
already has the necessary expertise and knowledge, the response says.

And
they can always find another firm if the work is unsatisfactory, the
city says.

The
city’s response is signed by Mayor Tom Richards and City Council
President Lovely Warren.

The
audit also criticizes Council members for failing to disclose their
roles in various nonprofit organizations with legislation pending
before Council. Several Council members are involved in nonprofit
groups in Rochester: Elaine Spaull is head of the Center for Youth,
and Adam McFadden leads Quad A for Kids, to cite two examples.

Council
members are not required to abstain from voting on the legislation,
the audit says, but they are required to disclose their interests in
the contracts.

In
its response, the city says that one of the instances was simply a
paperwork error, and that in the future, “Council will fill out
disclosure forms that will be filed with the City Clerk when an
interest in legislation is noted.” The city’s law department will
review the forms and decide if a Council member needs to abstain from
a vote or to disclose an interest.